Cuba Travel Guide: With Travel Restrictions Eased, How To Get A Flight To Havana, Where To Stay And What To Eat

Tourists look on from the balcony of a hotel in Havana, Cuba, Nov. 19, 2015. Photo: Reuters

With U.S. President Barack Obama's administration announcing Tuesday that travel restrictions to Cuba would be further eased for U.S. citizens, “people-to-people” educational trips will soon be allowed. The long-standing tourism ban to the country allowed only education trips to the country in groups, but Tuesday’s announcement will lift that ban.

The U.S. and Cuban governments have slowly been working over the past year to slowly restore diplomatic relations. As travel is being eased to one of the pearls of the Caribbean, here is a quick and easy guide to getting to the island, where to stay once you arrive and what to eat.

Flights

Flights to Havana are available, but they won’t come cheap. Round-trip tickets for flights from New York City to Havana start around $722, according to Cheapair.com.

The closer you are to Havana, the cheaper the ticket price is likely going to be. Flights from Miami to Havana a start at just above $517.

Many of Cuba’s best hotels harken back to the days when celebrities from all over the world would come to the country’s shores, rubbing elbows together dressed in the finest evening wear. The Hotel Nacional de Cuba is one of these hotels, where the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Marlon Brando and Gary Cooper were all said to have visited at one time or another. Prices here run about €240 (approximately $266) a night, but the view of the Caribbean is hard to beat.

A more modest choice to lodging would be the Casa Densil, a bed and breakfast with old colonial architecture. Other options for you stay include the Iberostar Parque Central, rated No. 1 in Havana hotels on Tripadvisor.com, and the Melia Habana.

Roast chicken. Most likely you’ve tried this dish, and you might think it’s can't be any differently from the way you’ve had it 100 times before. This is not the case at El Aljibe, a state-owned restaurant that serves its roast chicken with a bitter orange sauce, along with black beans and rice. It is one of the more famous restaurants in the country.

And while you’re in the Caribbean, you have to get some fresh fish. Santy Pescador is a good pick for fresh fish and sushi. Although a bit hard to find, it is just a short cab ride from the center of the city.

A more upscale option for dining would be El Templete, which brings together traditional Cuban cooking with the dishes from that of the Basque Country in Spain. For a dinner out of the ordinary, try the seafood paella made in squid ink. But before you leave Havana, remember to get one of Cuba’s most popular exports, the Mojito. Try the Puerto de Sagua for this classic alcoholic beverage of rum, mint and lime.